Australia, it's time to take action.

Global Warming. Climate Change. Climate Justice.
What Does it All Mean?

We live in a world where the effects of climate change are increasingly real; from melting ice caps to rampant forest fires, it can no longer be denied that man-made carbon pollution is affecting our fragile planet. The scientific evidence is settled; global warming is real and already impacting people around the world. The question now is, "What are we doing about it?"

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The Effects on Our Planet and Its People:

Every passing year, we see changing patterns of precipitation, including more intense rainfall events around the world, dramatic changes in the arctic, changes in agricultural growing seasons and rising sea levels and ocean acidification. Some of these changes in our climate will have dramatic ecological and social consequences. The cruel irony of climate change is that people in the developing world, who can least afford to adapt to climate change, will pay the steepest price for the 200 years of industrialisation and pollution from the developed world. It truly is an issue of climate justice.

Solutions:

It is more urgent than ever that we take steps to dramatically reduce global greenhouse gas emissions – and to do it in a way that equitably shares the burdens and risks of climate change among the nations of the world. Ultimately, we have to break the link between economic growth and development from natural resource extraction and depletion.

There is no quick fix to solve climate change, but we know what we need to do. We must:

What Does it Mean for Ben & Jerry’s?

Ben & Jerry’s has a long history of fighting for climate justice and finding ways to reduce the environmental impact of our business. In 2002, we launched a carbon offsets program for our Vermont manufacturing facilities. In 2007, we ran our first global warming advocacy campaign in partnership with the Dave Matthews Band. We’ve invested early and often in efficiencies throughout our manufacturing facilities, supply chain, and Scoop Shops to increase energy efficiency and shrink our carbon footprint.

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Nearly all businesses have greenhouse gas emissions associated with their operations, and that includes Ben & Jerry’s. We rely on agriculture for our main ingredients, especially dairy, as well as manufacturing to make our products, trucks to transport our finished products and freezers to keep our ice cream cold. We know our carbon footprint, and are working throughout our operations to reduce it. We are working with our farmers to reduce methane emessions from farms, we lead the change to a cleaner, greener freezer in the United States and built the Chunkinator at our Netherlands factory which helps power the factory from ice cream bi-products. We also know what we’ve done is not nearly enough and we must do more. We make progress and report on this each year in our our Social and Environmental Assessment (SEAR) Report. Read more about the steps we’re taking to reduce our carbon footprint and our plan to get to 100% clean energy at all of our U.S. sites by 2020.

Join the Climate Movement!

With a landmark climate action agreement in place including commitments from 196 countries to fight climate change, now is the time to keep the pressure on and ensure swift action. This climate agreement wouldn’t have happened without millions of people around the world taking action. And we won’t be able to meet the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement without millions and millions more people taking action in support of a rapid transition to clean energy. Paris was just the beginning, not the end. Let’s get to work towards a greener, cleaner future. Add your voice to the millions demanding action and sign the petition today!

Sign the Petition Now!

FAQs

What is Ben & Jerry’s position on climate change?

It’s real. It’s happening now. For us, its not just about polar bears and ice sheets, it’s about people and it’s an issue of economic and social justice.

We’ve always had a commitment to minimizing the negative impact our business has on the environment. We’ve made investments in energy efficiency and waste reduction at our manufacturing facilities, installed bio-digesters that turn waste to clean energy at our European manufacturing facility, and source only Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) paperboard for our packaging.

Why does Ben & Jerry’s care about climate change?

As a food company, many of the our partners in our value chain, including our Fairtrade suppliers in the global south, are at real risk from a warming planet. And because climate change is a risk to people in our supply chain, it’s also a risk to our business.

What exactly do you mean by climate change?

For us, the issue of climate change is not just an environmental issue. It’s a serious threat the poorest and most vulnerable people on the planet. This problem has largely been caused by wealthy, developed nations of the global north, while the least developed nations of the global south are most at risk, and have the least resources to adapt to a rapidly warming world. It’s a matter of human rights and social justice.

Our Partners:

Avaaz is a global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.

350 Australiais one part of a global movement taking action to halt the climate crisis. They work with a network of campaigners and local groups across the country to help coordinate online campaigns, grassroots organising, and mass public actions.

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BICEP is an advocacy coalition of businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation that will enable a rapid transition to a low-carbon, 21st century economy that will create new jobs and stimulate economic growth while stabilizing our planet’s fragile climate.

From a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, to far-off places with names we sometimes mispronounce, the journey that began in 1978 with 2 guys and the ice cream business they built is as legendary as the ice cream is euphoric.

Ben & Jerry’s operates on a three-part mission that aims to create linked prosperity from everyone that’s connected to our business. From marriage equality to cow-friendly farming, there are many issues we hold close to our hearts.